Monday, 31 August 2015

Ever seen any place which makes you say, “To hell with everything, let’s live here forever!?” Never?

Reshikhola, a paradise unexplored

Well, then you should definitely visit Reshikhola – the beautiful valley resting on the bank of River Reshi near Kalimpong in the Darjeeling district of North East India. Apparently, the land earns its name from the river. ‘Khola,’ on the other hand, is a Nepali word for ‘stream.’

By the River Reshi

About the place:

The valley with the rock strewn river and its gurgling waters separates the state of West Bengal from Sikkim. It lies in the midst of dense forests, cold, calm, fresh, and serene. In fact, to reach the riverbanks you will need to trek your way through the forests downhill. Isn’t that thrilling?

Setting step in a heaven, enjoying the beautiful Reshikhola

Somehow, it reminds us in every way of a typical Yash Chopra movie location.

Activities:

It’s an ideal escape from the humdrum city, or in Thomas Hardy’s words, ‘far from the madding crowd.’ It’s where you can birdwatch, take a dip in the cool river waters, indulge in angling, try your hand at photography, enjoy a bonfire, relish barbecued meat, go hiking, set up a tent for a night’s stay, and do so many amazing things! The land is full of scope for fun lovers.

Enjoying Camp Fire at Reshikhola

Accommodation:

The biggest luxury is the series of cottages that are on the river banks. If you are wishing for the comfort of traditional hotels in Reshikhola, you better not visit it, because there is none.

Savoring the Awesomeness of Reshikhola

The accommodation facilities are all eco-resorts with basic amenities, but very cozy rooms. Dining spaces are available and the food is awesome.

Reshi River Resort

How to reach Reshikhola:

Enjoying the Sun at Reshikhola

The place is a four hour cab ride, both from New Jalpaiguri, the nearest railway station, and Bagdogra, the nearest airport. A few kilometers ahead lies the beautiful little village of Rongli, which is the heart of East Sikkim.

The trek uphill

From there, you can plan a visit to Dzuluk, view the Old Silk Route and then proceed to the snow-clad Gnathang Valley.

Ready for the Dzuluk-Gnathang Trip

Best time to visit:

Avoid visiting Reshikhola during the rainy season. Summers are the best time, and Winters are equally enjoyable.

Saturday, 29 August 2015

Fashion policing comes so easily (and often without asking for it) these days. Whether a fashion freak or not, each one of us has faced the assault sometime or the other in our lives.

Source: Google

Remember your mom lecturing you about the ‘right’ kind of dress you should wear? Remember how such dresses often used to hang loose from your shoulders and never fit you? Or the times your beau chose to pick on you for the dress you wore?

Source: Living Learning Eating

Yes, the jeers are hard to digest. But, on second thoughts, do we really need the policing? Do we deserve it?

“It’s a new era in fashion — there are no rules.” – Alexander McQueen

Here are some bad fashion tips we get from the people around us all the time and the reasons why you are better off without them:

Fashion Blah #1: The ‘dress doesn’t matter’ spiritual crap.

It does! What you are wearing influences your personality in every way. Try walking out of your home in a garbage bag. Will you feel confident and phlegmatic? Never!

Source: BuzzFeed

From the color to the fit, each aspect of your dress has an impact on your mood and behavior; did you know that? Maybe this is why it is advisable that you go for dress shopping if you are feeling low.

Fashion Blah #2: Being fashionable is being extravagant.

Roll eyes. Haven’t people heard about budget clothing? There are a lot of brands and clothing lines, which offer amazingly fashionable dresses at flatteringly affordable rates.

Rather, the focus should be more on the usage. Want to buy something, which you can wear every day, spill ketchup, wash, and dump in whatever way you like? Go for cheap fashion.

Want to buy something which you intend to wear only once in a while on special occasions? Buy something expensive, and of high quality. Problem solved.

Source: Forever Twenty Somethings

Fashion Blah #3: You should dress according to your age.

Really? And what is that supposed to mean? That you cannot look sexy? That you cannot wear the top you used to wear in your high school? That you should not keep up with the trend? It’s way too boring!

There’s no rule set in the constitution commanding that elderly people shouldn’t wear what they like. Only those mindless vigilantes of undesired fashion policing troops advise you to do so. Ignore them.

Source: BuzzFeed

Fashion Blah #4: ‘Large’ makes you look thinner:

Sadly, they don’t. They make you look clumsy instead. People recommending this should learn about the things called ‘shapewear’ and ‘plus sized clothes.’

Source: We Heart It

The latter option offers everything – from skinny jeans to body hugging tops – that are just the right size and fit for the ones who are high on the fat factor. The former keeps every flab and bulge in place, making you look fabulous.

Wrap-up:

“Life’s too short to wear boring clothes.”- Cushnie et Ochs

You are what you wear – this is the only rule you should follow. You need to stop fretting over what the world has to say, and start loving your body. If you have a good taste in clothes, you must flaunt it by wearing the most envious designs ever!

Only the insecure likes to keep himself out of everyone’s sight. Why hide what you have? Why turn invisible when you deserve, in every way, to be noticed? Break the rules now!

Thursday, 20 August 2015

Had this thing come up few years ago, Rihanna would have sung this song instead!

The Phone-brella is a simple solution to those who hate getting wet in the rain or making their smartphones do the same. It is a way out to text even when it’s pouring heavily. No craning over the device to shield it. No trying to save the screen with your palm. The wonder umbrella does it for you!

Source: Complex Style

This innovative product comes from the Korean company, kt Design. It resembles any general umbrella with just the exception of an added C-shaped plastic handle for mobile users, which has been designed in a way such that it sits on the wrist securely. Thus, you can carry it hands-free and use your hands for fiddling with your phone instead.

And, because the product does not snap back like most umbrellas, there isn’t any risk of water damaging your smartphone. Isn’t it just incredible?

The concept has earned the company the prestigious Red Dot Design award. The function has been explained in an interesting video, which features a man struggling in the rain with a conventional umbrella and a phone before a kind woman arrives and replaces it with her Phone-brella.

Source: The Daily Mail

However, (ahem!) it’s interesting and intriguing how she subsequently manages to covet a place near him under the umbrella and watch him type something on his phone.

Source: Complex Style

And yes, the advertisement ends with a message that the product is now available in five different shades – Classic Gray, Smoky Gray, Blossom Red, Royal Red and Chic Black.

Source: Hyperblast

This is a huge revolution which will soon catch the attention of smartphone addicts or anyone who likes to do everything else, but hold an umbrella in the rain. Imagine them humming this tune to their phones:

Thursday, 13 August 2015

One of humankind’s greatest inventions is EARPHONES! Just plug in a pair and get detached from this world! We could have never become solo music enthusiasts without them. And imagine the horror of boring lectures choking us! Well, thanks to technology, we now have a way out to manage our audio-environment and control our audio privacy even in the midst of a humming crowd.

However, we all have had our share of struggles with our earphones, too! These are common and worldwide. Like –

#1: The Tangled Mass in Our Pockets & Bags!

No matter how hard we try to prevent this, at the end of the day, it happens. God knows what goes on inside the space, but we can never manage to get it sorted on its own. The struggle to untie the knot invites exasperation. And, remember the annoyance when a tug at the plug pulls the earbuds instead? Sigh!

Source: WeKnowMemes

#2: Earphones With Only One Side Working!

Admit it, we all have suffered this at some point of time or the other, and wondered if our ears are really working. We try tapping the earbuds, twist the cable, and rolling the plug inside the jack, but to no avail. And at the end, we give up and console ourselves with the other earbud that’s working fine…(and silently fear for its well being).

Source: The Wirecutter

#3. Noisy Audio That’s Solved Only When You Tease The Wire!

It feels like someone’s kneading plastic near our ears. And then, when we fiddle with the cable, the noise’s gone! It’s kind of magical, and makes us feel proud of our (pseudo) engineering capabilities. Yes, it does.

Source: Tested.com

#4. The Bud Covers Love Your Ears More Than The Phones!

The earbuds come, repose in our ears and then, leave their covers behind! And, while we frantically search for them everywhere, it never occurs to us that they might just be residing within the hollow of our hearing organs. Ah! Couldn’t each one of us have debuted as the lead character in Paulo Coelho’s Alchemist?

Source: Brookstone

#5. The Earbuds Keep Popping Out!

Yet another annoyance is this one. We wish for a great audio experience, carefully place the buds in the ear cavity, and switch on the music player. But, what happens? The buds keep slipping out every goddamn minute! And, thus flees the music zealot away from us! Lol!

Source: Quick Meme

Okay, #2 and #3 are signs that your earphone is about to die. Get it replaced now. As for #4 and #5, well, there’s no other option than to take it with a grain of salt. However, I am pretty sure there must be a solution to #1. Do you know the hack? If yes, then kindly share!